EA revamps Battlefield with free, ad-supported online title

EA branches out its Battlefield series to include free, ad-based games. In a …

PC gaming is a business where it is becoming increasingly hard to make a dollar. The rise of consoles, the threat of piracy, and the ever-increasing cost of development all lead to an environment that doesn't welcome innovation or, for that matter, profit. EA is beginning a new approach with the upcoming Battlefield Heroes, a cartoonish and lighthearted take on its popular Battlefield series of war games. The catch? The game will be released for free and will support itself through in-game advertising and microtransactions.

"[Ads] wouldn't work inside the fictional world. Instead, adverts will appear on the website and the 'front-end' of the game," Ben Cousins, the senior producer at DICE, told BBC News.

The for-pay items will also only make cosmetic changes to your character; nothing you buy in the game will give you an advantage in actual game play. For example, you may pay a dollar for a new rakish hat, but you won't be able to pay for a gun that shoots faster or does more damage. Keeping the advertisements outside of the play experience and making sure the play itself isn't a matter of who has spent the most look like solid decisions.

DICE knows how to create a compelling online experience; the Battlefield series has consistently provided some of the better online shooters on the market. This approach and early character art almost seem to be a reaction to Team Fortress 2, the hyper-popular and frenetic team-based online shooter included in the Orange Box. The new title strays far from the original feel of Battlefield, however, so how well DICE will be able to create a more casual-gamer-friendly approach is an open question. Expanding the market with games that can run well on older systems may prove to be a popular choice, especially as the more technically demanding games are having some sales issues on the PC as of late.

Taking a known quantity with a strong brand, shortening play time into smaller chunks with a more newbie-friendly game, and then giving away the title is certainly a bold move. If EA succeeds, the company may move more titles into this business model; EA certainly isn't hurting for properties. If the game is subpar, however, it may harm one of EA's more lucrative properties. This is a high-risk, high-reward strategy that many other players in the gaming industry will certainly be watching.